Journal, Cabinet, Multilingual Parlour, Untranslated Conference Room, Repository of Erudite Pastimes, even a Gymnasium for the Polemist and the Humorist; Consacrated to Oddities and Facts Concerning Peculiarities of Theatrical Amusements related to the Circus, Conjuring, Comedy etc.; their Connections with Fine Arts; the Uncovering the Curiosities of their Past, and the Critical and Hopefully Provocative Account of what of Interest is Remaining of their Uncertain Present. Profusely Illustrated.

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Sunday, October 14, 2007

Sunday Poster Gallery: Circus Busch in the 20s

The imponent Circus Busch in Berlin marked the beginning of XX century as the last great European circus building. Opened by Paul Busch, it resisted the advent of the movies with his wagnerian-size pantomimes on historical and mythological themes.

In the 20’s, when the screen took the crown for the visual spectacle, Busch turned toward the strange, the inusual and the dark, reflecting the uncertain athmospere of the Weimar years.

So, from the predictable trained monkeys, the barnumian freaks or acrobatic prodigies, Busch promoted a series of more disturbing acts, emphasizing the domination of the natural forces or offering a glimpse on the supernatural ones (after all, Houdini was often a Busch feature). The man eated animals, survived sadistic challenges, turned himself into a radio, an hydrant or a volcano, celebrated the jewish masculinity or the feminine ability of seeing the future.

The Busch posters, almost often printed by Friedlander, began to reflect the unique stylized and often hallucinated of the German graphics in the 20s. In those years Busch was the temple of celebrated Hanussen the clairvoyant, killed after predicting the Reichstag fire.

Under a later conflagration, the Berlin bombing of 1945, human hydrants or death-defyng strongmen sadly were not there, to save Circus Busch from his final destruction. And his world of demons, rigurgitators, and magicians on the edge of suicide disappeared forever.

Today’s gallery is dedicated to the last era of this German cahtedral of the strange, when live entertainment could still give the thrills of the dark and unknown.

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Raffaele De Ritis

Impostor of the international stage arts, he is said out from a noble estinguished family of Southern Italy. From childhood he attempted escapes to the strolling life. Without refusing an academic theatrical education in Rome and Paris, he began to earn his life in the frequentation of carny barkers, crocodile hypnotists, quick-change virtuosos, aerialists, actors, ballet étoiles.Nobody knows why and when producers began trusting in his directorial services, spreading his signature around the globe: from Savary, Brachetti, or Larible; to American sanctuaries as Big Apple Circus or Cirque du Soleil. It is in his hands that Feld dared to put the concept of Barnum’s Kaleidoscape; and the Princess Grace Theatre of Monte Carlo or Spoleto Festival trusted for magic events or Shakespeare stagings.He wrote books and dictionaries about theatre, circus and magic; his signature infestated in the last 20 years major international circus periodicals. Mentalism, training of escapologists, academic lecturing on silent movies are other ways to assure his existence besides writing and directing.Mixing forgotten Martini recipes and tracking theatrical memorabilia are his beloved pastimes.